Saturday, September 19, 2009

It is no secret that I am in a battle with a local radio station. My show was terminated on that station at the request of the local congressman in a very shameful fashion. (The congressman believed that I had embarrased him in responding to an attack by one of his aides and had to return a sizeable amount of improper campaign contributions) I was accused of using the N word on the air even though the evidence ( the air check tape) showed that I hadn't used the word. I also was the only host without a board operator, I was doing it all even though I am a 100% disabled veteran.

Thursday, the replacement host ( who was given a board op. the moment he came on to replace me) intentionally tried to use the N word on the air and made quite a stink when his board op bleeped him. Naturally, I made contact with the station pointing out that this was the same thing that I was punished for. I was told to 'kiss off". I offered to settle the continuing battle and return to the air. I was told that I had to sign a release giving up all claims and then I might be allowed an hour and would have to prove that I have an audience before I would get any additional air time. In other words, go back and beg for my job. Currently my Blogtalk audience is approximately 90,000 so why would I throw away everything and go crawling back to a station that does not understand the meaning of the word fairness?

What happened to the concept of equal rights? The station has gotten rid of all blacks and disabled and most whites. It seems to be a Hispanic only world.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

It is a difficult job to build an audience for a new radio show. Once you have built the the audience, then it is equally as hard to maintain the audience. After all that work, then you have to continually work to find out the audience's needs and make sure that you meet those needs. One thing that you have going for you, naturally, is the faith, help and support that comes to you from the station. After all, it is to the station's benefit that you succeed. So of all of those that would be a threat to the longivity of a radio talk show the station would be last on the list. Or so you would think.

I built a show about the paranormal that had the largest listening audience on the station. Then I was asked by the promotions director to help out and do an additional two hour political show. It had high numbers as well. Then came the problems. The local congressman has an aide that is out of control. He came on my show and proceeded to spew my medical information on the air. I responded to this attack with a comment that resulted in the congressman returning some improper campaigh contributions. It also resulted in the congressman asking the general manager of the station, a friend of his, to remove me form the air. Such is the reaction of this man to those who do not worship at the altar of the democratic party, he sets out to destroy them. I was thrown off the air in the ost insulting way possible by the same man who had asked me to do him a favor by doing the political show. From the station's point of view, the wants and desires of the audience is not a concern, rather it is wanting to please a politico and cater to his needs.

This heartless move on the part of the station forced me to look for some other mechanism for my show. I moved to blogtalkradio.com and rebuilt my show once again. I moved to blogtalkradio on July 20th with a small core of loyal listeners. Over the two months since that time, I have rebuilt the base of nationally known authors who appear on my show and the audience has grown to over 90,000.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I thought that politicians worked for the voters, not ruled as lords. I also thought that the public airwaves belonged to the people, not autocratic station general managers who cater to the wants and desires of politicians. I guess that I am wrong. I also guess that the 90,000+ listeners are mistaken in believing that they have the right to listen to what they want. They should ask the politicians who they should be listening to.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Throughout my career as a publicist, I've had the distinct privilege of meeting experts in the broadcasting industry, as well as outstanding radio and TV hosts. I realized that offering interesting guests for their shows was not enough. I wanted to create a space where I could also help them promote their show, and at the same time, let them know how much their work is appreciated, so I created Media Connections Lab.

At one time, I was working with authors whose books fell in the "mystery" genre, and some wrote stories related to the paranormal. Though some critics may consider the paranormal "strange," it continues to enjoy increasing popularity. During that time, many of the authors were interviewed by Ken Hudnall when he was on terrestrial radio. Since then his audience has exploded as he sought wider exposure.

"I do a radio show on blogtalkradio.com which is heard worldwide. I took my terrestrial show, reformatted it and went to the Internet. My audience is over 30 times greater here than on the terrestrial radio. I interview psychics, researchers of the paranormal. authors and others of note as well as tell stories of lost treasures, unsolved mysteries and hauntings," he said.

When asked what is unique about his approach to radio, Ken said he prefers to be informal. If you listen in, you will notice how conversational his tone is, and that kind of simplicity juxtaposed to controversial topics can make a strong impact on the audience.

"I deal with everyone in a very informal, non-judgmental fashion. I do not do "interviews", but rather its like sitting on the front porch and talking to a friend. I also do not cut people off, everyone is encouraged to have their say as long as it is not obscene or inflammatory," he said.

He said he got started in the radio industry, while working as a magazine editor. After talking with one of his writers, he learned of their radio contacts at a local station. "I mentioned to her that I had always wanted to do a radio show, and two weeks later I am sitting in a studio in front of a mike and the producer says you are on the air," he said.

Based in El Paso, Texas, his radio show has an international audience, as a result of having switched to an online format. He said El Paso remains his home because he purchased a house in the area just before his retirement.

Ken admits he's been tempted to go off the air, but his wife, Sharon continues to encourage him to press on. "She is continually coming up with novel approaches that result in the show staying fresh and exciting," he said.

Outside of his work as a radio host, Ken is involved in authoring books, and other pursuits. I collect unusual historical stories, conduct ghost tours locally and go on ghost hunts with a local paranormal group. The results have been mind blowing," he said.

Ghosts and ghost hunting may sound eccentric to the average Joe, but Ken finds it challenging and worthwhile. He recounts a story about how his paranormal group made contact with an ethereal presence while investigating a haunting. "On a recent Friday night at about midnight, I was on a ghost hunt at a manufacturing facility that is well over a 100 years old and has been shut down for over 30 years. We were in one of the buildings that has a history of paranormal happenings. Very clearly several of us heard a female voice humming a tune. There was no question that there was an entity present. It also set off two motion detectors," he said.

Ken shares a strong affinity with the historical landscape of El Paso. He's well-versed in its intricacies. "El Paso is the gateway to the old west and a place that has seen a lot of violence over its long history. This is also the place where Europeans first set foot on the North American continent," he said.

As far as his leap from terrestrial radio to the Internet, there were some struggles in the beginning, mostly due to politics.

"Recently, I discovered that politics has invaded the radio world. In this current political administration, there has been a move to try and remake the airwaves into a pro- government cheerleader. This has included an attempt to remove conservative white talk show hosts. I am also 100% disabled and this is also not politically correct. The needs and desires of the audience is also not long considered. For these and several other reasons,hence my move to blogtalkradio.com where none of these pressures exist. Earlier this year, I was attacked on the air by the aide to a very powerful congressman. I responded to this attack and the result was that the congressman was embarrassed. The Congressman than asked the General Manager of the station to remove my show from the air and the General Manager was happy to oblige," he said.

Ken Hudnall, not a man easily daunted, was recently asked by a local community member if he would run against the congressman in the next election. Although plans are not firm yet, Ken said he is considering the proposal.

Despite the stormy episode that forced him to move on to the Internet, Ken Hudnall exudes more confidence, and is more energized than ever. "My original show in 1989 resulted in me writing my first book which is still selling well. This original book will shortly be released in its fifth edition. Since that time I have written over 30 books and the show is a great platform from which to release them. We are now moving into e-books, audio books and videos," he said.

When Ken Hudnall is not out investigating hauntings, and hunting ghosts, his other passion is hunting dynamic guests for his show, The Ken Hudnall Show on Blog Talk Radio.com.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Well, now is the time to let it all out. I have been asked many times why my show was taken off of the terrestrial station. I wasn't sure until someone inside told me, but it has now been all laid out for me. On one of my shows (I did two shows back to back, a political show that I did at the request of Abel Rodriguez, and my paranormal show) a Congressional aide saw fit to put my medical information on the air (I am a 100% disabled veteran). We had had words and he was making an attempt to embarrass me publicly. He ended up with the comment that no one wanted to listen to me, that my show was a waste of air and time. My response was that his boss liked to see me coming when I was bringing the checks from Bob Jones (a man who has plead guilty in the local corruption scandal). That seemed to end the conversation. This was on February 6th.

I continued to do my show, knowing full well that the Congressman was not happy with me as an ensuing investigation resulted in him having to return a large amount of campaign funds donated to him by Mr. Jones' family. The matter stayed a topic of interest with my audience even though David Candelaria, the General Manager of the station, ordered me to quit mentioning it as the Congressman was a personal friend of his. Even so, other hosts were allowed to talk about it, defending the great man, of course. He and his staff members were on other, liberal leaning, shows on that station so many times it almost became a branch office of his official office.

I was taken off the air on May 13, 2009 on bogus grounds. In June I was approached by a local person in the know who told me that he had been told by a member of the staff at the station that the Congressman had called in a favor and asked David Candelaria to remove me from the air. The favor was granted. So in El Paso there is no freedom of the air waves, it is controlled from Washington. So much for the 1st amendment.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Well it had to happen. In my literary career, I have gone from writing books to editing a magazine, back to writing books, then hosting a radio show that has run off and on over the last 20 years and which can still be heard nightly at (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ken-Hudnall) and now a blog. It seems that I spend more time behind the computer than I do anything else. But everyone has to do something.

I was doing a terrestrial radio show on a station that just can't make up its mind what it wants to be when it grows up. The staff believes that it is brilliant when in actuality, they are like kids playing on the school playground and the class nerd now has the power to be the school yard bully. In a lame attempt to be a purist (a politically correct term for racist), the former nerd who now thinks that he is in charge wants the radio shows on the station to all be in his image. In his view, I was not the correct color and I am also disabled which raises issues that already has the station's parent corporation in trouble, thus I was shown the door. But more about that later.

On my blogtalkradio.com show, my audience is now over 60,000 listeners world wide and no one is trying to be the boss, while lacking a clue as to what to do. The topics are still unsolved mysteries, lost treasures and the paranormal, which were laughed at by the nerd. In future postings, I will start to give the dirt on the situation vis a vis the radio station as well as who is pulling the strings at this so-called user of the "public" airwaves. In the meantime, listen to The Ken Hudnall Show from 6-9:00 PM each evening (mountain time). Monday through Friday.